You Got Some Stuff Going On Part 2

Fandango

A few of you have asked, after reading this post from this past Thursday, what the MRI of my right shoulder showed. Over the past few weeks, my right arm has become close to useless. I am able to use it to get around with my walker, but it aches when I do. My range of motion without pain in my shoulder is very limited, the fingers on my right hand are numb and tingle, and the grip on my right hand isn’t strong enough to hold eating utensils or even a toothbrush.

I called my primary care doc and he arranged for an MRI so he could see what kinda stuff was going on in my shoulder. Yesterday afternoon he called me with the news. I have a fractured humerus! More specifically, a proximal humerus fracture.

WTF? A busted left hip and a busted right shoulder?

It is a break of the shoulder at the top of the upper arm bone just below the ball of the shoulder joint. It lets you move your shoulder in circles and allows your muscles to be under the correct tension to maintain strength. Your rotator cuff muscles are attached to this bone.

My PCP believes this fracture won’t require surgery and should heal just fine without an operation. He said that there’s minimal displacement. If that’s the case, physical therapy that starts with gentle range-of-motion exercises and progresses as pain improves and the bone continues to heal. It is not uncommon to need 3 to 4 months of physical therapy and a dedicated home exercise program.

I have my first post-surgical appointment with the orthopedic surgeon on Monday and I hope he’ll confirm that my fractured humerus can be addressed non-surgically. But it sounds like, between my hip replacement and my shoulder injury, I’ll be in going through physical therapy through the entire spring and maybe even into the summer.

And I thought 2023 was going to be a better year!

Now a word from our sponsor.

I was never a fan of blogs where most posts were about the physical or mental health of the blogger. Yet here I am doing just that lately, posting a lot about my busted hip and now my broken arm/shoulder. But I can now understand how such concerns can dominate the consciousness of individuals going through these kinds of health issues. Some of you have expressed interest in getting updates from me on these matters, so I will continue to provide them, but unless something significant happens, like finding out almost a month after breaking my hip, that I also broke my arm, my posts about my current and evolving health situation will be no more frequently than once a week. Or as needed for pain. 😉

42 thoughts on “You Got Some Stuff Going On Part 2”

  1. msjadeli February 11, 2023 / 6:19 pm

    Oh dear, Fandango! Not sure what to say other than follow your PT and work your way back to painless mobility. I’m sorry to hear what you learned and even more that it took them that long to figure it out. A friend of mine’s husband fell back in Nov and kept having pain but nobody seemed interested in looking further. Finally his wife became so insistent that they sent him for x-rays and learned he had 2 broken vertebrae!!!!!!! Asap he was in to have “cement” injected (don’t ask me about terminology) and is now, a week later, starting to feel some relief. So much for me not being sure what to say lol. My thoughts and healing vibes continue your way for complete recovery. {{{{HUGS}}}}

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 11, 2023 / 8:49 pm

      Thank you, Li. Your thoughts and hugs are appreciated.

      Liked by 1 person

      • msjadeli February 12, 2023 / 12:29 pm

        You’re welcome. One day you might be able to trade your bag of bones in on a new model. Hang in there!

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Christine Bolton, Poetry for Healing February 11, 2023 / 6:48 pm

    I’m sorry to hear of your condition. It sounds debilitating and I’m sure it is. Hang in there my friend and trust in the magic of modern medicine. They can rebuild you (remember the 6 million dollar man) ☺️

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 11, 2023 / 8:53 pm

      I do, indeed, remember the 6 million dollar man. Played by Lee Majors if I recall correctly.

      Like

  3. Sadje February 11, 2023 / 6:50 pm

    I had a suspicion when you mentioned the pain in shoulder and mobility issues. It’s good that it won’t need surgery. And with PT you’ll see improvement. Take care. And keep you calcium intake up, more ice cream! Also if you aren’t taking Vit D, add it to you regimen. All the best.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. newepicauthor February 11, 2023 / 6:51 pm

    I am also at a loss of words, but I do want you to hang in there and get better.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. rugby843 February 11, 2023 / 7:25 pm

    It’s a part of your life and for me my health is a dominating part that effects me everyday so naturally I write about it.  It’s part of getting to know each other

    Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

    Liked by 1 person

  6. jai February 11, 2023 / 7:49 pm

    Hang in there….”when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I think you’re tough, Fandango.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Lou Carreras February 11, 2023 / 8:01 pm

    Glad to hear that you should not need a surgical intervention. You body has already suffered enough. Your PT is your best friend run the process, but pay attention to what everyone says, and do some research.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. bushboy February 11, 2023 / 8:24 pm

    Keep us informed on what’s going. You’re not a pain 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 11, 2023 / 8:58 pm

      I’m glad I’m not A pain. I just wish I weren’t IN pain!

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Sanjeet Patel February 11, 2023 / 9:13 pm

    That’s not a good news and I wish you speedy recovery. I have been reading your health related posts with interest to see how your recovery is taking place. Take care

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 11, 2023 / 9:28 pm

      Thank you, Sanjeet.

      Like

  11. Paula Light February 11, 2023 / 9:44 pm

    Best wishes for smooth healing of both hip and shoulder. I can continue the FFFC as long as you like. Take care! 💕

    Like

    • Fandango February 12, 2023 / 8:47 pm

      Thanks again for stepping up on the FFFC prompt, Paula. If you can keep it up at least through the end of the month, I’m hoping I might start feeling more normal and energetic by then.

      Like

  12. Nope, Not Pam February 12, 2023 / 12:07 am

    Geez, you can’t catch a break (or you can in this case) I’m struggling with tendinitis and bursitis in my left rotator cuff. So I can only imagine how much pain you’re in. 😔

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Mister Bump UK February 12, 2023 / 1:26 am

    I lose interest when it is nothing but somebody goes on exclusively about their health, but I’m mindful of what I was like. For a while, it did dominate things, and it seems fair enough that people talk about it.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Eugenia February 12, 2023 / 5:56 am

    Oh, my, Fandango! At least you know the reason for your numbness and tingling and good news that you don’t have to have surgery. Good luck with the PT.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Marilyn Armstrong February 12, 2023 / 12:14 pm

    Sometimes, I post because the information is interesting and not just whiney. I had no idea that anemia could cause that many symptoms, none of which had any obvious relationship to the anemia. So I had this underlying condition that was causing a whole lot of other problems, — EACH of which I ascribed to something else and never imagined they were linked to massive iron deficiency. In this case, a smart doctor picked up on it when I was still in denial.

    I think sometimes medical information can be useful. Not everyone has a great doctor to work with. I would never have imagined you could have a broken arm and live with it that long without realizing what what happening.

    We are not sturdy at our age. That stupid LITTLE fall I took a few weeks ago hurt like a bastard — and FINALLY went away. It wasn’t a big fall and I knew (or thought I knew) nothing was broken. What I didn’t realize was that even a minor fall has repercussions. A lot of us seem to be learning this right now, maybe because it’s winter — the best time to fall and discover that little fall was enough to make it impossible to deal with groceries or even with heavy cooking pots.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 12, 2023 / 8:56 pm

      Nor could I imagine having a broken humerus in my right arm and finding out nearly four weeks after the fact that it was broken. In my younger days I used to be insensitive and laugh at that commercial where an elderly person slips and falls and says, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Now I realize that I AM that elderly person.

      Like

      • Marilyn Armstrong February 13, 2023 / 6:55 pm

        We don’t have to give up on life. We just need to be more careful. Which is harder than it sounds.

        Liked by 1 person

  17. pensitivity101 February 12, 2023 / 2:07 pm

    Oh dear. 2023 has not been good for you so far Fandango. Surely it can only get better now?

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 12, 2023 / 8:59 pm

      Maybe it will get better in the second half of the year.

      Liked by 1 person

  18. Cyranny February 12, 2023 / 6:30 pm

    Sorry to read this, Good Sir! If you can, at least, avoid having surgeries, that’s good news. But I know it doesn’t mean a fun recovery. Take good care, and get well soon 🙂 Best wishes and warm hugs from Freezingland 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 12, 2023 / 9:09 pm

      Thanks, Cyranny. Stay warm and don’t fall on the slippery snow and ice.

      Like

  19. Gr8BigFun February 12, 2023 / 10:00 pm

    I guess the tech was right, you had “stuff” going on in there for sure. Fingers crossed surgery isn’t required and just remember, after all that physio you are going to be in some pretty damned good shape.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 12, 2023 / 10:36 pm

      “…after all that physio you are going to be in some pretty damned good shape.” Yeah. Either that or dead.

      Like

  20. leigha66 February 12, 2023 / 10:02 pm

    That is not good news, but if there is no additional surgery needed that is good. Please continue to keep us posted. I wish you speedy recovery from all that ails you.

    Liked by 1 person

  22. Terveen Gill February 13, 2023 / 7:09 am

    Life can really be a bummer at times. Take care. Wish you well!

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Marleen February 13, 2023 / 12:45 pm

    You might as well look at the intensive physical therapy as a major blessing rather than prospects for a bad year, even though the beginning of the year (with the two fractures themselves) was bad.

    Liked by 1 person

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